US-based e-commerce logistics provider ShipBob secured $200m yesterday in a series E round backed by internet and telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank, more than doubling its valuation to “well over $1bn”.
The round, which took the company’s overall funding to over $330m, was led by Bain Capital Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of private equity firm Bain Capital, and also featured Menlo Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Silicon Valley Bank.
Founded in 2014, ShipBob offers a cloud-based logistics platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses that provides e-commerce fulfilment services through 24 hubs located in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.
The platform integrates with payment, e-commerce platforms, marketplaces including Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, Square and Squarespace, enabling merchants to provide fast and affordable shipping to their customers without having to handle fulfilment themselves.
The company plans to use the funding to expand its software platform and broaden its customer base while scaling its network and bolstering its omnichannel commerce capabilities. It had collected $68m in a series D round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 in September 2020.
ShipBob had previously closed a $40m series C round led by Menlo Ventures in 2018. Bain Capital Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Y Combinator also took part in that deal.
Bain Capital Ventures had previously led a $17.5m series B round for the company in 2017 with backing from Hyde Park Venture Partners, FundersClub, Hyde Park Angels and FJ Labs.
Recruit Strategic Partners, part of human resources firm Recruit, took part in a $4m series A round for ShipBob in 2016 that was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners and backed by Hyde Park Angels, FJ Labs, FundersClub, Startcaps Ventures, NFQ Capital, Network Ventures, Bluestein and Associates, Service Provider Capital, SV Angel, Y Combinator and Russell Long.
Zillionize, We Funder, SV Angel and FundersClub had provided $1m in seed funding for the company the previous year.
Divey Gulati, president and co-founder of ShipBob, said: “With the additional investment from Bain Capital Ventures and our series E, we can continue to make strategic, long-term investments in our product and technology to help make e-commerce businesses more successful.”